My Donal

Owen Hand sang My Donal
in 1965 on his first Transatlantic album,
Something New.
He also sang it a year later on the anthology
Folk Scene.
He commented in his original album's sleeve notes:

I wrote this and the first idea for the song came when I was sailing from
South Shields in a Whaler, Antarctic bound for seven months. I felt rather
sad that there was no-one down on the Quay to say goodbye to me, even sadder
at the thought that there was no foot of ground to come back to.

The Ian Campbell Folk Group sang My Donal
on their 1966 album
Contemporary Campbells.
They commented in their liner notes:

We first heard this sung by Glasgow singer, Ray Fisher, who told us that it
was written by her friend Owen Hand, from Edinburgh. At that time he was
comparatively unknown, but since then, he has become a popular figure in
British folk clubs, because he sings just as well as he writes.

Shayna Karlin sang My Donal on the 1968 album
Soldiers and Sailors
(Folksingers of Australia Volume 2).
She noted:

Written by Scots singer, Owen Hand, himself a sailor. This beautiful song
tells of the fears and loneliness of the women awaiting the return of their men
who sail “southwards in search of the whale”.

Dick Gaughan sang My Donal
in 1978 on his Topic album
Gaughan.
He commented in his sleeve notes:

A song written by Owen Hand emphasising the fact that most of our luxuries
are obtained at the expense of somebody else's hard and frequently dangerous
work.

The Wassailers sang My Donal
in 1978 on their eponymous Fellside album,
Wassailers,
together with Richard Grainger's song Whitby Whaler.
They noted:

We put these two songs together because they both deal with the loneliness
and fears of the wives and families of the men who spent so much of their
lives away from home. My Donal was written by Owen Hand and contains
an interesting reference to the fact that perfume is a by-product of the whale;
a luxury often paid for with men's lives.
Whitby Whaler is a song by Teesider, Richard Grainger.